Collide
by Eiridian
Summary: They were two forces moving in parallel beside each other but always naturally, inevitably, drawing closer and closer to each other.


Title song by Howie Day

* * *

 **Collide**

Even, measured footsteps leisurely carried Akaashi down unfamiliar hallways as he followed the directions given by a security guard. His pace was unhurried as he let his eyes roam over crowded corkboards covered in colorful flyers vying for space and attention.

* * *

"Akaashiiii!"

Akaashi had just closed his locker when the shrill call assaulted his ears. Closing his eyes as he allowed himself a moment of well-deserved exasperation, Akaashi set his school bag on the floor before turning towards the loudly approaching footsteps and automatically reaching up.

Stopping his momentum just before he would have bowled Akaashi over, a far too chipper Bokuto Koutarou flashed Akaashi a big dopey grin before making exaggerated choking sounds as hands grabbed his loosely hanging school tie and tugged. Thin, deceptively strong fingers that set dozens of volleyballs each day began tying the silky material with the kind of deft ease that only came from extensive practice.

"You should really learn how to tie your own tie someday, Bokuto-san." Akaashi quietly delivered the same line he gave every weekday morning while school was in session.

"Good morning to you, too, Akaashi." Bokuto's grin seemed to only brighten despite Akaashi's frown and the now awkward angle of his neck as he was forced to lean forward for his kouhai to perform his task.

Akaashi kept his eyes fixated on the tie in his hands, resolutely not looking up at Bokuto's face just inches away from his. The first few times that Akaashi had felt obligated to fix the older boy's appearance (mostly for Bokuto's sake but also partly for the sake of the volleyball team's image) not even his normal stoic exterior could hide the faint blush on his cheeks that came from having the object of his tiny crush so close to him. By now, however, Akaashi had done this so many mornings that it was as natural and routine as tying his own tie.

Akaashi had been around Bokuto for a long while by now, as friends and as teammates, and that initial tingling of a crush that he'd had upon first meeting his senpai had quieted after learning that Bokuto was really just a giant ball of goofy crazy energy that he had to control for everyone's sake. If his steady hands shook for a moment as he pulled the neatly tied knot in Bokuto's tie tight, if he could vividly see himself tying Bokuto's tie while they were wearing matching tuxedos, if he briefly imagined doing this for the rest of his life...well, no one had to know.

* * *

The sound of exuberant shouts drifting towards him from up ahead told Akaashi that he was headed in the right direction. As crazy as it was, Akaashi swore that he could distinctly pick out one voice from the others even with a set of doors and a long hallways between them. A small nostalgic smile flitted over Akaashi's lips as he focused in on that voice.

* * *

Conversations in the school cafeteria mixed together to form a soundtrack of white noise made chaotic by on table, _person_ , in particular. Akaashi, regrettably, was heading towards that table. Taking the empty seat between Washio and Bokuto (because Bokuto always insisted on saving Akaashi a seat next to him), Akaashi silently tuned in to the team's heated debate about some television series' fan theories.

"I am telling you, her being in a coma makes perfect sense!" Komi was insisting loudly with his mouth full of sandwich. Akaashi pulled two bottles of juice from his bag and set one down in front of Bokuto.

"That would be such a cop out and would completely undermine the effort they put into the plot." Konoha argued back calmly even as he aggressively stabbed at his salad. Akaashi unwrapped two bento boxes that he'd prepared that morning, putting one in front of himself and the other in front of Bokuto.

"I still think that her brother was involved somehow." Sarukui declared, his food nothing more than crumbs at this point with his eating speed being what it was. Akaashi placed a pair of chopsticks on top of both boxes before swiping one of the two custard desserts sitting in front of Bokuto. Bokuto's class was closer to the cafeteria so he actually stood a chance of getting dessert before the horde of hungry students took them all.

"This is where you are all wrong." Bokuto was, predictably, the loudest as he butt in while absently digging into his lunch as Akaashi opened his bottle of juice for him. As Bokuto went off on his own theory, amber eyes alight with excitement and moving from one teammate to another, he handed Akaashi a napkin from his stack just as Akaashi was about to open his mouth to ask for one.

Washio, who had been watching everything from the moment Akaashi sat down with a deadpan gaze, finally snorted softly into his cola before mumbling, "How are you two not married already?"

Akaashi promptly began to choke on his rice and had to endure Bokuto thumping him painfully on the back and lecturing him about not inhaling his food.

* * *

Pushing open the right side of the double doors just wide enough to slip his body through, Akaashi felt himself taking a deep breath as the familiar atmosphere of a gym enveloped him. Dozens of students in practice attire were running around doing drills on the edges of the volleyball court as several others were on the court itself in the midst of a practice match.

The voice that Akaashi had heard from down the hallways was even louder now as its owner jumped around like a bouncy ball, his black streaked silver hair as perkily gravity defying as ever. He was yelling encouragement to his teammates, taunts at his opponents, and even off-handed comments to the players not on the court all in one breath before taking another. The resigned expressions on numerous faces were ones that Akaashi knew well.

Dark eyes spotted Akaashi hanging by the doorway and positively lit up with glee at what was sure to come. Grinning like the sly cat that he was, the older teen turned his attention back to the game and patiently waited.

* * *

Akaashi had several textbooks open and spread out on the table in front of him along with pages of homework threatening to make him go crazy. He had an hour before volleyball practice and like a good student he was determined to use his time well, but he was not happy about it. A brooding, unapproachable aura suddenly pressed against his awareness and pulled a heavy sigh from his chest.

Secretly, Akaashi sort of welcomed the distraction as he reached into his bag for his emergency weapon just as Bokuto flung himself gracelessly into the chair beside him. With much huffing and undue banging of Bokuto's school bag against the table, a few more textbooks joined Akaashi's on the abused table's surface. Akaashi didn't even bother to humor his senpai with a pitying look, choosing to instead busy himself with the object he'd grabbed from his bag as he waited.

"Akaashi, you would not believe the afternoon that I had." Bokuto began to grouse but Akaashi cut off the whining before it could get into full swing.

"You got that substitute for History class that you hate who makes you write an essay on some boring topic to be given in by the end of class for a significant amount of grade points. You hate history and you hate writing, your hand is currently cramping and you're concerned that it will affect practice. Here," Akaashi wrapped Bokuto's left hand around the carton of chocolate milk that he'd been preparing, ignoring the squeal of delight, before taking the other boy's right hand in both of his.

Turning his attention back to his studying, Akaashi worked his fingers over Bokuto's knuckles and palm with just the right amount of pressure to work the soreness out. Rereading the paragraph that he was supposed to be writing an analysis on, Akaashi felt his mind clear of its earlier frustration as he felt Bokuto snuggle his head on Akaashi's shoulder. Bokuto was a notoriously tactile person, especially when it came to Akaashi, and Akaashi's shoulder naturally relaxed to accommodate the familiar weight. Letting his head lean against the fluffy silver hair and fighting off a smile at the quiet slurping noises interspersed with happy hums whenever Akaashi's fingers found a particularly sore spot, Akaashi let himself indulge in the moment.

Despite their age gap and personality differences, Akaashi and Bokuto were so easily in tune with each other and silently filled in each other's gaps and crevices. They were like two sides of a coin and on the rare occasion that Bokuto wasn't being loud or crazy Akaashi could actually appreciate the relationship that they had.

"Akaashi, you're the best." Bokuto chirruped as he nuzzled into Akaashi's cheek. Akaashi missed the silence already.

"Kuroo-san is a genius, I'm sure you'd gain more from studying with him every now and then." Akaashi said it mildly, but the instant stiffening of the body against his and the giant sniffle informed him that this was not the day. "But I'm glad that you like spending so much time with me." He added casually, his hands having never faltered once in their massaging of Bokuto's. Bokuto relaxed again and resumed his drinking and content humming, completely missing Akaashi's tiny sigh of relief.

Finally releasing Bokuto's hand, Akaashi gave his senpai's head an affectionate pat before reaching for his papers. "If you let me finish my homework and get some studying of your own in, I'll let you come over after practice and we can watch _Tangled_." It was over the top and Akaashi would have to sit through an hour and a half of Bokuto's excited wiggling, but after the day Bokuto seemed to have had it was a surefire way to get him through volleyball practice with minimal incident.

"Can we sing?" Bokuto was sitting up with excited stars in his eyes so fast even Akaashi was a bit impressed.

"Sure, Bokuto-san." Akaashi sighed. His grave was getting deeper.

"I get Flynn's parts and you get Rapunzel's!" Thank god that milk carton was empty, there'd be milk flying everywhere otherwise with Bokuto crushing it in his excitement.

"Whatever you want, Bokuto-san." And his grave was now so deep that he couldn't see the sun anymore.

The giant bear hug, the whispered, "You really are the best," and the sight of Bokuto actually seriously studying for once all kind of made that grave worth it.

* * *

"Kuroo!" The setter on the left side of the net yelled as he tossed the ball up at an unusual angle. Kuroo flew across the court and practically pounced on the ball, aweing Akaashi as he was reminded of Nekoma's old captain's powerful spikes despite his position as a blocker. The angle didn't faze Kuroo at all as he solidly connected with the ball midair and slammed it down right through the other side's blockers.

"Nice!" Kuroo's teammates cheered, but none quite as loud as the jumping ball of energy that was demanding his turn.

"Ito! Me next! Me next! I wanna try!"

Akaashi watched as elbows jutted out, arms went flailing, and jumping feet narrowly missed stepping on other feet as they came back down. The unease and slight fear in the eyes following those limbs' movements made Akaashi want to laugh.

"Bokuto-san," Akaashi called out from where he was leaning against the gym wall.

Akaashi's voice was like a tranquilizer. The second Bokuto heard him calling his name he instantly stilled, all of his energy receding back into his skin from the air particles they'd been bombarding, and Bokuto was left standing there with his body serenely relaxed. A small but insanely happy smile lit up his face so powerfully it reached all the way up to his eyes as he and Akaashi gazed at each other, a smile that Akaashi felt himself returning as warmth flooded his tightening chest. That smile told Akaashi more than all the exuberant words in the world could as to how happy Bokuto was to see him and how much he'd been missed.

Wide eyes and gaping mouths darted between the miraculously silenced Bokuto and the mysterious high schooler responsible for the silence. No one in the gym was moving or making a sound save for Kuroo as he valiantly tried to muffle his hysterical laughter. All Akaashi could see, however, were Bokuto's amber eyes locked onto his.

"You need to calm down before you hurt someone."

* * *

"Bokuto-san, you need to calm down before you hurt someone." Akaashi tried to sound stern but couldn't stop the amusement from creeping into his voice. Bokuto loved spiking practice and there was little that could put a damper on his excitement for it.

"Did you do something, Akaashi? I have History with him and I was sure that we'd get at least three meltdowns today." Konoha was eyeing Bokuto with distrust as he lined up.

"I did some preemptive work today." Akaashi mumbled, reminded of his impending Disney hell as he got into position by the net.

"That's our dependable vice-captain!" Sarukui laughed heartily as their coach began throwing volleyballs at Akaashi.

Akaashi liked spiking practice almost as much as Bokuto did. With their blockers on the other side of the net and different spikers coming at him in rapid succession it was like a fun game for Akaashi to adjust each ball that he set to get the point. Konoha needed his balls set a certain amount higher than the point of intended contact because what he lacked in run speed he made up for in power. Sarukui needed his balls set fast as he had the tendency to rocket towards the net. Bokuto…

"Bokuto-san!" Akaashi called for his captain right as his fingers touched the worn leather of the volleyball. A familiar, reassuring whoosh of air at his back told Akaashi that he was there. The ball sailed in a graceful arc right into Bokuto's waiting palm. A split second later and the ball made a resounding slam at it collided with the floor.

Adrenaline and elation rushed through Akaashi's veins and pounded in his ears as Bokuto landed back on his feet before turning a giant grin Akaashi's way. Akaashi would later blame it on the rush of a flawlessly executed play, but something about the way Bokuto was looking at him made his heart beat faster than it should have been.

* * *

The giant pout on Bokuto's face coupled with his drooping shoulders signaled a quickly impending sulk session. Seeing the absolute terror brewing in Bokuto's setter's eyes, Akaashi gently pushed himself off of the wall and made his slow, unassuming way onto the court.

"Excuse me, Ito-san?" Akaashi politely broke into the thick cloud of gloom hanging between setter and spiker. Dark eyes turned towards him in surprise. "Are you trying to do the same toss that you did with Kuroo-san on Bokuto-san?" A mute nod was his response. "Would you mind if I tried?" Akaashi didn't even need to turn to know that Bokuto had instantly perked up.

Ito blinked at this well-mannered, good looking teen who looked like he should have been off wooing the ladies, but instead he was here somehow taming the wild, unpredictable Bokuto Koutarou and Ito could do nothing less than respect that. Nodding to the younger teen, Ito tossed him the volleyball he'd been holding and backed up to observe.

With the familiar weight in his hands, Akaashi felt a smile fight its way to his lips at the prospect of tossing to Bokuto again. The volleyball club at Fukurodani was just not the same without him, the peace sometimes physically painful. Looking up to see Bokuto already dancing in place at the boundary line waiting for him, Akaashi then looked to Kuroo who was already standing a distance away with hands raised for the ball.

"Thank you for your help, Kuroo-san." Akaashi smiled as he passed the ball over and got himself ready.

Kuroo nodded in acknowledgement with a grin before throwing the ball skyward and then hitting it in Akaashi's direction. Akaashi's eyes never left the ball even as he commented to Ito, "Bokuto-san had a different cadence than most spikers. He's about half a second off which means that when you set for him…"

Akaashi felt the ball land on his fingertips and, without hesitation, launched it right back up at the exact angle Ito had been setting at but with just a bit more force. The rush of air at his back was as familiar and soothing as the person causing it as Bokuto took off and flew towards the ball. Akaashi's eyes slowed the movement down so that he could fully appreciate the beauty that was Bokuto in flight. His entire body was the picture of controlled power as it easily moved through the air, his eyes shining with sharp determination and focus, and everything about him seemed to roar with the confidence that nothing would stand in his way.

The moment was broken as the volleyball slammed into the court on the opposite side of the net and Bokuto landed gracefully back on his feet. There was no jumping or shouting, which Akaashi was sure was throwing the team for a loop, just the quiet happiness in that familiar grin that Bokuto always gave him after a successful play.

Ito was eager to pick Akaashi's brain when it came to setting for Bokuto, the rest of the gym inhabitants were murmuring amongst themselves and looking at Akaashi in awe, and Kuroo was still grinning like a smug cat. As Akaashi talked with Ito he felt a warm hand slip into his and tangle their fingers together as a weight settled on his shoulder from behind.

Not missing a beat in his conversation with Ito despite the older setter's wide eyes, Akaashi gave Bokuto's hand a firm, reassuring squeeze before reaching up with his free hand to run through those fluffy silver locks. The lips pressed against Akashi's shoulder quirked into a smile before a small kiss was placed on the exposed skin of his neck, and that really did say more than Bokuto's words ever needed to.


End file.
